Windows
by capableoflove
Summary: Luna likes to watch people. LunaBlaise GinnyDraco
1. Chapter 1

_Insert witty disclaimer here_

Luna sat at the end of the Ravenclaw table, thoughtfully chewing on a bite of mutton. The seats on either side of her were vacant, but she was oblivious to her ostracization by her housemates. Even if she had noticed, she wouldn't have minded. She enjoyed being alone; it was often far more interesting than listening to the incessant prattle that came along with all teenage girls, even the ones in Ravenclaw. Her eyes wandered around the room looking for anything interesting, stopping as it came to the trio and her almost-friend, Ginny Weasley.

Ginny was seated between Hermione and her brother Ron, spooning something that looked like some kind pie into her mouth. Harry was across from them, his back to Luna. Ginny was now looking very uncomfortable, which may have been the result of Hermione leaning across her and shaking her finger menacingly all while yelling at Ron. Ron's face turned bright red and he mirrored Hermione's awkward positioning, leaning over Ginny and her food.

Ginny obviously was not taking kindly to the two seventh years; she looked like she wanted nothing more than to just get up and leave, but was unable to because of the spat currently taking place over her breakfast. Luna watched with horror and morbid amusement as a piece of soggy egg flew out of Ron's mouth and landed on Ginny's cheek. He didn't seem to notice his projectile, but Ginny did, stiffening and calmly wiping the egg off her cheek with her napkin. Despite her calm actions, one look into Ginny's eyes showed Luna that she was not just angry, she was furious.

Luna was deprived the pleasure of seeing what form of cruel and unusual torture Ginny would bring about on her brother. Ginny's eyes went from angry to amused in less than a second, when Ron shouted something to Hermione. Hermione, however, had an entirely different reaction. She froze, a look of shock on her face. She only paused a moment before jumping out of her seat and sprinting towards the exit. Luna chuckled, she had never thought of Hermione as particularly athletic, but she could sure move fast with the right motivation. The patter of her footsteps echoed throughout the hall.

The students close enough to hear what Ron had said were either looking shocked, amused or some combination of the two. The students were looking from the door that Hermione had just run through to the thoroughly confused male redhead sitting at the Gryffindor table. He had on the same expression Hermione had just been sporting, complete shock.

By the look on his face it was obvious to Luna, and probably everyone else that he hadn't meant to say whatever he had said and that it had popped out and had surprised even him. Luna saw Ginny call out Ron's name, which seemed to snap him out of his trance and he took off running after Hermione. Ginny dropped her face into her hands as she shook with silent laughter, although considering Luna was out of earshot, probably any laughter would have been silent to her.

Harry was still sitting at the table. He was watching the door with a look full of longing and worry. He obviously wanted to make sure his two friends were all right and weren't killing each other. He turned and said something to Ginny. She looked up at him and upon seeing the look on his face, she started laughing even harder.

'Go,' she saw Ginny say to Harry, waving her hand vaguely in the direction of the giant oak doors. Harry needed no further pushing and followed his two best friends by scrambling out of his seat and running out the door. Luna would bet money that he not only found his friends in one piece, but found them snogging in a corner somewhere.

'That would be interesting.' she thought to herself as she sniggered.

The rest of the school was still watching and Ginny couldn't blame them. This was better than those soap operas her father had made her watch one time.

Ginny remained sitting. She looked up at the rest of the hall and looked around and then said loudly enough for the whole hall to hear, "You can continue with breakfast now."

When no one stopped staring, she added, "The show's over."

The silence was broken and the sound of hundreds of teenagers gossiping was soon heard. Everyone turned to their neighbor and began whispering feverishly to one another, sneaking glances at Ginny, surrounded by empty seats. Luna looked around at the other tables and a flash of pale blonde hair caught her eye at the Slytherin table.

Draco Malfoy was laughing loudly at the Gryffindors; actually, the entire table was. Luna wasn't surprised. She couldn't blame them. Even Ginny was laughing and it had been her ex-crush, her brother, and one of her best friends. The scene had been downright hilarious. Pansy sat on the left side of Draco, clutching his arm possessively as she howled like a banshee. She obviously didn't realize that she looked extremely unattractive doing so. Her eyes were glued to Draco, even as she answered a question directed to her by a fifth year boy.

It was obvious to everyone that she fancied Draco- fancied him to be her ticket to wealth and power. She didn't seem to particularly like him, there was no spark of warmth in her eyes when she saw him, just a small spark of attraction and a colossal spark of greed. She seemed to like the idea of marrying him more than she actually liked him. Her eyes were always cold and calculating, devoid of any of the tenderness that is needed to like someone.

Still, she took every possible opportunity to touch him or be near him. However, Draco, to his credit seemed uninterested in her advances. Either that or he didn't realize that Pansy wanted him. Luna would put money on the former seeing as even someone with the intelligence of Crabbe or Goyle wouldn't be as oblivious to her sexual advances. And no matter how annoying, and mean Draco was, he wasn't stupid. In fact, he was far from it.

Behind his cold, arrogant exterior lay an intelligent person. His eyes were carefully guarded, not revealing any emotion other than hate, loathing, and the more-than-occasional disdain. If you watched closely enough, which Luna did, it was possible to catch a glimpse of something else in his eyes, but it was a rare occasion when one did. Although she only saw glimpses of true emotion in Draco's eyes, the person sitting on his other side was even more difficult to decipher.

For six years he had intrigued her, caught her interest in a way that nobody else had. For six years she had slyly watched the student body, and she could tell you something about them, everyone, except for him. For six years she had been daydreaming about his thick black hair, his full lips and rock-hard Quidditch body. For six years she had been scared to death of talking to him.

For six years she had fancied Blaise Zabini.

He was a member of the Slytherin Ruling Class; in fact he was extremely high up in the Slytherin hierarchy. It was probably because he was Draco's best friend and also extremely good looking, at least according to Luna and the rest of the female population. He was also Head Boy. Luna thought he deserved the position and had been happy to hear he was awarded it.

The other houses had at first, complained about a Slytherin Head Boy, but a few weeks into the school year the dissenters were silenced as Blaise had been nothing but fair. He was diplomatic to the other houses, diplomatic to the younger years, diplomatic to the teachers, he was even diplomatic to the house elves. In Luna's book, he just didn't add up. He managed to get along with the cruelest students in the entire school, yet he was very likely one of the most genial.

As usual he was sitting in his regular spot next to Draco, smiling slightly but not joining in cracking jokes about Harry, Ron and Hermione. He didn't stop them, but he didn't join them. Draco was laughing at something Pansy had said, but he flinched slightly when she started howling again. Obviously Pansy was capable of grating on his nerves like she grated on everyone else's. Her face was contorted with her maniacal laughter and he looked away.

Even though Draco was participating in the Gryffindor-bashing, unlike Blaise, his attention was elsewhere. He was continually stealing glances at the Gryffindor table, specifically Ginny Weasley. He was careful not to watch for too long, or he otherwise risked detection, which would be very bad for him. Luna thought it would be funny to see what Pansy would do if she found out a mudblood-loving Weasley had caught her Draco's attention. Knowing Pansy, it wouldn't be pretty.

Draco was staring at her heatedly. The look in his eyes surprised Luna. He looked at Ginny with lust. Oh sure, it was overshadowed by hate, disdain and contempt. But it was still there. He was attracted to Ginny. The youngest child and only girl in his least favorite family managed to catch his attention, and he hated it.

She saw the battle taking place behind his eyes. He was trying to fight the feelings that Ginny oh-so-obviously evoked in him, and was doing a passably good job. Luna was willing to bet he wasn't even aware of the attraction himself. Being the silly boy he was, Luna also bet it would be a while before he became aware of it. That would be an interesting day indeed. He clenched his jaw and looked resolutely back at

Blaise was sitting there, smiling silently. He was, by far, her favorite person to watch, besides being nice to look at. He always interested her.

Suddenly he was looking up, straight at her. She froze, unable to shift her gaze away. He smirked at her and raised one eye questioningly. She blushed furiously and looked down at her plate.

'Pickle swotter!' she cursed to herself, panicking.

She ignored the rest of her breakfast and left the great hall as quickly as she could. She avoided looking anywhere near the Slytherin table. Once out in the corridors where she didn't need to worry about drawing attention , she sprinted to her room and flopped onto her bed.

Blaise Zabini had caught her staring at him. She was so embarrassed, in fact she was mortified. She hadn't even been just staring at him, she had been mooning over him. She groaned loudly into her pillow.

'_This can't get any worse._'


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: This is the longest time I've ever gone between updates. I was super hesitant to do this because my writing style has changed significantly in the 6 years since I first wrote this. I really did love Chapter 1 though so I felt like it was something I should try to do. Take it for what it is. This won't ever become a serious storyline but it will be a collection of run ins between the two of them. Hopefully I won't take another 6 years to write the next chapter. Enjoy :)_

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Luna peeked up from underneath the rim of her floppy, yellow hat. The grounds were teeming with students lying out on the grass, enjoying the sun. Luna was leaning up against a rock on the far side of the lake enjoying the view. There was a group of rowdy Slytherin boys lounging in the shade on the opposite shore.

You could say many things about the Slytherins. They were proud, prejudiced, rude but also extremely talented in the personal grooming department. Even the boys seemed to be perpetually stepping out of one of those muggle clothes books Hermione had shown her. The combination of pride and wealth really did wonders for someone in the looks department. An image of Pansy flashed through her mind. Well, there were limits to everything.

Luna knew most of the boys' names, but she paid little attention to many of them. The majority of them were either simpletons or cruel, and it had never taken long for Luna to figure out which was which. As always, her gaze was drawn away from the others to rest on the infernally handsome Blaise Zabini. She remembered meeting his eyes in the Great Hall and she could feel her body flush with heat, mostly acute embarrassment. She was rarely caught staring so openly at someone, and she had been able to think of little else for days. The only reason she had the courage to watch them on the shore of the lake was because she was too far away to be seen. She could watch them in peace with none of the danger of another awkward brush with the Slytherin.

The boys were sitting next to a tree near the edge of the lake. Luna watched as a squirrely one she didn't recognize was picked up by the foot and carried dangling to the edge of the lake where he was tossed in unceremoniously. He crashed into the water and shot upwards screeching bloody murder. Crabbe, the main attacker, was already backing away when the boy made a mad, futile dash for the shore. Like anyone who has ever tried to run in water can attest he moved painfully slow and Crabbe had a sizeable lead by the time he was fully on land. That wasn't enough to deter the sopping wet victim from his pursuit, and Luna giggled as the slight boy sprinted after Crabbe with bits and pieces of plant life dangling from his shirt collar and a wide, crazed smile plastered on his face.

There was a time when such a display of boyish, friendship would have surprised her coming from the Slytherins. They seldom, if ever, acted like real children around the other houses. Most of the other students assumed a Slytherin was unable to have fun at all. Luna had seen too much to believe that. She knew that if you watched carefully enough, you could always see glimpses of humanity peek through the perpetually dour exteriors.  
The wet boy caught up with Crabbe eventually and jumped on him, tackling him to the ground. He grabbed some of the soggy plant life from his own hair and rubbed it on Crabbe's previously starched shirt. Truly, there was no real fight. Crabbe could have flattened his attacker, but they made a show of it and soon a handful of other boys joined in playfully pushing each other around and avoiding the slime.

Blaise laughed at the scene, but didn't join in. Only he and Draco remained seated on the grass beside the tree. Blaise lay back in the sun, while Draco, sat in the shade. That would explain the skin tone she joked to herself. The two boys, as always, were a study in contrasts. Draco watched the melee, his back ram-rod straight, knees pulled tight to his chest. Blaise lounged back, his legs out straight soaking in the sun. Luna was much too far away to see any nuance in their faces, but she didn't need to. Even without the wildly different coloring, body type and facial features no one could ever have a hard time telling them apart. Draco was stiff and guarded; Blaise was relaxed and cheerful. Both of them were separate from their housemates.

It was the status quo, and every boy knew it without a word having to be said. Though boy after boy was dragged to the lake's edge and tossed in by his friends, not for a moment did one of them approach Draco or Blaise and try to toss them in. There were some things, a hierarchy of sorts that need never be spoken. It was ingrained as completely into the Slytherin boys, as their mistrust of the other houses.

The group was still splashing around at the edge of the water, when Luna's gaze was suddenly drawn back to her favorite subject. Blaise Zabini, as if privy to her inner prayers, pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side, hitting Draco squarely in the face. Luna was too preoccupied by more important matters to notice how Draco responded to such an indignity. She assumed that it was suitably haughty and disapproving, Draco's reaction to most events.

Instead, Luna's eyes were fixed on the expanse of smooth dark skin. She was struck suddenly by the notion that one did not need to be covered in rippling muscles to have a beautiful body. Blood rushed to her cheeks. She should not be watching this.  
It wasn't illegal to ogle underage, shirtless boys from the bushes, right?

Luna absentmindedly flipped the page of her book, not sparing a single moment to even glance at the page she had just flipped to. There were much more important things than studying for her Potions exam.

Blaise waded into the lake. When he got up to his waist, he dove into the water, popping back up and shaking the hair out of his black curls. Blaise was incredibly attractive by any standards, and the water running in rivulets down his chest certainly did not hurt matters at all. This had turned into an amazing afternoon rather quickly; this was much better than the plans Ginny had canceled.

Blaise kicked leisurely away from the shore. Luna's heart skipped a beat. He was still much too far away to see her tucked away in the shade, but she still felt worried. Luna's satisfaction at seeing a beautiful boy out on a swim quickly vanished as she noticed that he was traveling directly towards her. _'Not again'_, she thought suddenly, and prayed that it was just a coincidence. As his distance from her vanished, so did any composure or ability to think coherent thoughts. Her mind was alternating between the word 'shite' and the desire to flee.

"Hello," he called out. Luna resisted the urge to look around for the person Blaise was actually talking to. He was looking directly at her a broad, friendly smile plastered to his face. This was happening, and she could deal with it.

"What are you doing?" she asked, not bothering with polite formalities. He had obviously swum to her for a reason and if it was malicious, she'd rather know sooner than later. Blaise's grin grew wider at her bluntness. Apparently, not all Slytherins prized tact. She scowled down at the handsome boy floating in the lake 15 meters away. She knew that in the image of her floppy, yellow hat she couldn't be very intimidating.

"Taking a swim," he said unhelpfully. "I don't have to ask what you're _not_ doing." She raised her eyebrow at him, trying to channel her own version of haughty indifference. He didn't seem impressed with her attempt. She didn't respond, so he filled in the blanks for her, "You're _not_ reading that book." He motioned to her textbook dangling limply from one hand. She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. "Oh don't even bother, darling, you haven't looked down once for the last ten pages."

Luna's cheeks flushed red. Apparently, she wasn't the only observant student at Hogwarts. It was something new to file away in her mental folder about him. Although, he had called her darling, and some things were hard for a girl to forgive.

"I'd like you to go now," she said. She wished he had stayed on the other side of the lake, where she could have watched him in peace rather than deal with the shallow flirtiness.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be alone on an afternoon like this." He accompanied this remark with a practiced wink. Luna resisted the urge to gag.

"Seriously?" she asked. "I heard you use that exact same line on a Hufflepuff a week ago. Luna felt her heart sink. She'd always been aware that her version of Blaise might not match up with reality, but the reality he was presenting was just too sad. Blaise wasn't so different from other Slytherins after all. His smile wavered a little bit at her chastisement, but he only paused for a moment before speaking again.

"So you watch me often? Not just in the Great Hall?" She groaned inwardly, of course it would be too much to hope he wouldn't bring that incident up.

"Don't flatter yourself," she huffed. "I watch everyone." Blaise seemed to be more amused by her every time she spoke. It was infuriating. And considering she was trying to be haughty, it was slightly disheartening.

"Isn't that a bit creepy?" He seemed genuinely curious rather than trying to be charming, so Luna decided she could try to give him an answer. She shrugged.

"No one really notices." That was as much explanation as she could manage. She was kinda creepy if she ever took the time to think about it. The only way someone else would be bothered by her is if they actually noticed, and other than this infuriating Slytherin, no one ever had.

"I can't be the first bloke to notice that a tiny, blonde in a giant yellow hat was watching me." She could have lied, but this was a question that she actually had an answer to.

"People notice the giant yellow hat," she waved her hand above her head. "They don't notice the girl beneath it."

"I find that hard to believe," he said. He was slipping back into charm mode and it made Luna sad.

"What's my name then?" she asked with a paper thin smile. From the look on his face, Blaise obviously had no idea. She took advantage of his momentary speechlessness. "If it's impossible to not notice my radiant beauty, what's my name?"

"I know you're in Ravenclaw," he said, clearly not wanting to admit defeat. Unfortunately for him, neither did Luna. She pointed to the crest on her robes that clearly showed she was in Ravenclaw. "What am I, daft? Any idiot can see that."

"Fine, I don't know you're name. Will you tell me it?" No reason not to she supposed.

"Luna." She recognized her mistake immediately. Blaise looked shocked. She'd forgotten that while few people actually talked to her, an awful lot of students talked about her. Now he knew that she was Looney Lovegood. She could only imagine all of the stories people told about her exploits. She didn't care about what people thought, but for the first time she wished she could make a first impression that wasn't tainted by other people's opinions of her.

"Well it is lovely to meet you, Luna. I am thoroughly enjoying our little chat." He stood, raising his top half above the water level and bowed. She felt the urge to stand and curtsy in response. What was she doing? Who curtseyed these days? Who bowed? Luna cleared her throat.

"Well, er," she said wanting this confusing exchange to be over. "Goodbye, then." She looked down at her book hoping, that Blaise could take a hint, not that her dismissal was subtle at all.

"Alright then," he said. In a moment his splashes sounded farther and farther away. When she looked up, he was at the far bank talking to Draco.

Luna tried to calm her heartbeat down. She really didn't know how to feel about Blaise after talking to him. She normally hated talking to people. They usually thought she was weird and made few attempts to hide it. Slytherins were always the worst. Blaise's forced charm was obnoxious, but he hadn't made fun of her, so that was something.

Luna had no idea why Blaise had bothered himself with her, but going by his attempts to charm her, it probably wasn't good. Not wanting to be present, if the group of Slytherins started laughing and pointing, Luna gathered her stuff and hurried back to the castle.

She really needed to avoid Blaise from now on.


End file.
